Hitting Home - A Report on the Police Response to Domestic Violence 1997

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Half of the women victims of homicide in Scotland are killed by their partners.

1.2 Adult domestic violence is seldom an isolated incident in the lives of those most closely affected. Repeat victimisation is high 49% of a sample of Scottish victims recently claimed to have been injured more than once in a year and 20% said that force had been used against them at least once a week. It can manifest itself at times as a crime such as physical assault, breach of the peace or damage to property. Not all assaults result in injury. Sometimes the verbal or emotional abuse involved does not amount to crime, although that fact alone does not preclude police involvement. As well as harming the direct victims it can harm children in the household emotionally and physically.

1.3 In 1990 The Scottish Office issued guidelines to police forces to impose a degree of consistency in their response to adult domestic violence. This Thematic Inspection took these guidelines as a starting point and, aiming to identify and spread good practice, examined the way in which forces serve the special needs of victims, enforce the law, and contribute to the deterrence and prevention of repeat victimisation.

1.4 Police statistics on domestic violence in most parts of Scotland have only recently been collated at force level and there is no standard definition. Inter-force comparisons are therefore difficult and many recording regimes are basic. In any case police statistics cannot be used to show trends since up-turns may reflect better recording practice or increasing confidence amongst victims as a result of better police practice and publicity. Nevertheless the Report provides the first ever view of police-recorded domestic violence across Scotland. What we can deduce from the best available force data, is that demand for police services from victims of actual violence has increased in recent years. Recommendations are made for a standard definition and recording practices which will differentiate between types of crime and other incidents.

1.5 The Inspection found that most forces were developing the management of information to aid the initial response to domestic incidents. That development is encouraged by a recommendation on the rapid provision, to attending police officers, of any existing recorded information relating to the people or places involved.

1.6 The individual approach of constables attending incidents of domestic violence is inevitably influenced by their working experience and that of their colleagues. This experience is generally limited to the crisis points of domestic strife. They witness the immediate aftermath of that trauma something which very few others see with all the confusing messages given out by those involved who may understandably be at their least rational. All those within and outwith the police service concerned in monitoring, training and managing the response to domestic violence must acknowledge this difficulty.

1.7 It is recognised that the quality of police intervention at the first report of violence and its perceived effect on the offender's behaviour, are crucial in determining whether the victim will continue to seek help as well as in securing immediate safety. The Report identifies and encourages good practice in the core policing functions relating to domestic violence: public order, public safety, investigation, provision of advice relating to other services and recording. The need to continue with the policy of preferring charges whenever possible is underlined. It is also noted that the functions and capabilities of police officers do not extend to meeting all the needs of victims of crime. Conversely, police responsibilities may extend for instance to other vulnerable members of the household beyond the needs of the victim.

1.8 It was found that subsequent police action was best managed in those forces where monitoring of individual incidents was conducted by nominated officers with appropriate line management support and this is therefore recommended to all forces. Written guidelines for identification of victims who should receive follow-up attention are also recommended, and the complementary policy of making secondary contact with most victims of domestic violence is encouraged.

1.9 Domestic violence can present particular investigatory difficulties in the immediate aftermath which may be less marked in the cold light of day. Consequently it is often necessary for some consideration to be given, some hours after the event, to the need for further investigation, at least in cases where there has been an allegation or suspicion of physical assault. Responsibility for that consideration was not clearly allocated in the majority of forces. This was as evident in those five forces which now have designated domestic violence officers as in some of those without such posts. Domestic violence officers are too small in number to undertake all such further investigations personally, although they could be involved (and are well-placed at least to assist) in deciding whether further enquiry by some other officer is merited. Forces are recommended to clarify responsibility in this respect.

1.10 To monitor statistics on domestic violence, liaise with other organisations and inform policy at strategic level, the Inspectorate recommends that all forces follow the practice of those which have vested that responsibility in a nominated senior officer. The use of repeat victimisation statistics by one force as a measure of the effectiveness of intervention is promoted as good practice. Wider use of such measures might demonstrate the efficiency of targeted intervention by proving that it reduces the amount of police time spent in responding to incidents of repeat victimisation.

1.11 Several forces were found to be giving protection and, perhaps more importantly, assurance to particularly vulnerable victims of estranged partners by temporarily providing either mobile phones programmed to connect with police stations, or personal alarms connected to a staffed facility in touch with the police. Funding for these schemes had been obtained from external agencies and the Inspectorate recognises this as an excellent example of shared responsibility for community safety. The provision of this type of protection and assurance is recommended to all forces.

1.12 Victims of domestic violence, like other victims of crime, have a right to know what response the criminal justice system is making to their particular case. Victims of domestic violence very often also need to know in order to prepare for the consequences. The information systems of the separate parts of the criminal justice system do not yet have sufficient links to make such a valuable service easy to provide. The Inspectorate is aware of current developments in the service provided by criminal justice agencies to victims (such as the Victim Notification Scheme for advance warning of prison release dates), and of planned linkages in their information systems which should allow for further development. It is important that the very real and particular needs of victims of domestic violence are taken into account in that further development.

1.13 Hard-earned experience throughout the UK has taught public services that the sharing of information is also of vital importance in the related issue of child protection. The Inspection found that four of the eight forces had no formal policy on the way in which social work departments or Reporters to Children's Panels should be notified of incidents of adult domestic violence occurring in households with children. Even in some of those forces which did have procedures in place the criteria which triggered notification would either loose or exclude information which would, at least cumulatively or when considered along with information unknown to the police, be of use to the other agencies.

1.14 Of equal concern was the fact that routine cross-referring of information contained in separate databases on adult domestic violence and on child abuse occurred in only three forces. Specialist staff working separately in both fields could conceivably be monitoring incidents relating to members of the same household at different times and have no knowledge of that fact. Apparently minor incidents might not appear significant when considered in isolation but could arouse justifiable concern when considered alongside each other.

1.15 Recommendations are made on both of these aspects of information-sharing.

1.16 Follow-up contact with certain victims is a valuable means by which domestic violence officers or other police officers can provide information and preventive advice, assess the need for further investigation or protective measures, and act as a link to other means of assistance. It is recommended that forces which do not already nominate officers to fulfil this role on a full-time basis, or as part of a wider range of duties, consider that need in light of the other recommendations and findings in this Report. But there is clearly a need for further outreach work with victims of domestic violence beyond that which can reasonably be expected of the police service. Advice, counselling and support can be more instrumental in ending violence than investigation and law enforcement. As needs grow police forces will find it increasingly difficult to meet demand.

1.17 Some forces were found to have used publicity well to make victims aware of the improved service available. This is seen as complementary to the wider publicity campaigns at local and national level designed to persuade society at large, including offenders themselves, that domestic violence in any form is completely unacceptable.

1.18 At the time of the Inspection, local government re-organisation was still relatively recent and appeared to have caused something of a hiatus in the progression of inter-agency groups working in a variety of fields. Domestic violence was no exception. The Inspectorate is convinced of the need for such co-operative working in providing a response to domestic violence. Police forces must continue involvement in developing these groups, and even aim to instigate their formation where they do not already exist or have become dormant. Liaison with local authority services and other agencies at operational level was found to be most productive in those forces which had clearly identified points of contact, usually nominated domestic violence officers, although this does not negate the responsibility of local commanders to nurture and occasionally participate in discussion. Scottish Women's Aid praised the advances made by most forces in liaison over the past ten years.

1.19 Incidents of domestic violence can be among the most difficult operational situations for police constables to handle. Operational constables who provide the initial and perhaps the only assistance to victims have, for understandable reasons, an incomplete understanding of the complex factors affecting the situation. Senior police managers must acknowledge this in order to ensure that training aims to raise awareness and is delivered by the best available providers.

1.20 The Scottish Police College provides initial training to all probationary constables on domestic violence, centred on aspects of law and the 1990 Scottish Office guidance. Sergeants also receive a valued input to their training there from Scottish Women's Aid. In-force training is intended to supplement that provided at national level and all forces give some degree of domestic violence training to probationary constables. In four forces this is aided by inputs from local Women's Aid groups and in one by domestic violence officers. Several forces also maintain domestic violence training for constables beyond their probation and one force recently ensured that all operational constables received a newly designed course on domestic violence. The Inspectorate acknowledges the invaluable assistance given by Women's Aid at national and local level and recommends that all forces review domestic violence training to ensure that constables receive awareness as well as procedural training.

1.21 The Scottish Office guidance issued in 1990 (Police CC Circular 3/90) reflected and contributed to a sea change in the response of Scottish police forces to domestic violence. That guidance was closely mirrored in every written force instruction examined during Inspection. However, the Inspectorate also found that informed thinking within and outwith the police service has moved on since 1990 and therefore recommends that the circular be reviewed.

1.22 The will to improve police responses to domestic violence has not been lacking in Scottish forces and much has been achieved. This is demonstrated by the fact that most of the recommendations in the Report are based on good practice discovered in one or more forces during Inspection. It is hoped that publication and study of the Report will assist all forces in the continuing effort to serve the special needs of victims of domestic violence, enforce the law, and contribute to the deterrence and prevention of this serious crime.